BEIT SHEMESH (December 25) - The organization that administers Orot school in Beit Shemesh issued an apology yesterday for publicly burning a copy of the New Testament a student received from Christian missionaries.

"Everybody knows we made a mistake," said Jordana Klein, spokeswoman for Sha'alei Torah. "We wouldn't do it again. We don't think it's the right thing to do."

The book-burning took place in the school courtyard the week before Hanukka, after a teacher in the boys' school found that one of his sixth-grade students had brought in a Hebrew copy of the New Testament.

The student received it from local missionaries who, according to Klein, have been active in proselytizing Beit Shemesh children.

"The teacher said: 'God sent it and He gave us the privilege, and we'll be able to burn the New Testament," said Ariel Lesnick, 11, who is in the class.

The teacher consulted with the principal, Rabbi Yair Bachar, said Klein. After receiving approval, the teacher - whose name Klein refused to divulge - took his class outside.

Then, Lesnick said, "We took a few sticks and we burnt it." The teacher emphasized that the book-burning was an anti-missionary activity and not an anti-Christian one, Lesnick said.

After receiving calls from angry parents, Bachar reconsidered the decision, which Klein described as "too hasty." He consulted rabbinic authorities on the issue and decided to appoint Rabbi David Spector - rabbi of the Givat Sharet neighborhood of Beit Shemesh - as a permanent rabbinic decision-maker for the school.

Spector ruled that missionary material should be burned, but it is the sole responsibility of the owner to burn it and the burning should take place in private.

"It was appropriate to burn the New Testament in private," wrote Spector in his ruling. He cited traditional and modern rabbis, including Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, who wrote that he had burned missionary texts, which he called "books of incitement and brainwashing." Such burning is permissible even if the texts include the name of God, Spector said.

The teacher said that if missionary material were found in the school again, it would be thrown into the garbage rather than publicly burned, said Lesnick.

The Education Ministry was not aware of the incident, said spokeswoman Orit Reuveni.

"In principle, the ministry condemns book-burning as an educational act," she said. "We are not aware of this incident, but we will investigate the matter in depth."

Wayne Firestone, director of the Anti-Defamation League here, said the apology is a positive reaction to the school's "inappropriate" decision.

"The issue of conversion obviously is a sensitive one, and school officials are entitled to make requirements to try to protect their students from inappropriate materials entering the school," he said.

"At the same time, the symbolic and actual imagery of burning any books is really an inappropriate reaction to any offensive material. We're encouraged to hear that the school has issued an apology, and we hope that from the apology, they can send a better message to their own students about tolerance of other religions."

Since the burning, Bachar has addressed teachers, parents, and students - particularly the sixth-grade class - about the issue. He emphasized that the school is not against Christians but against Christian attempts to convert Jews, said Klein. The school is also planning programs to increase tolerance, she said.

The student who brought the New Testament in is not the only one missionaries have targeted. After the book-burning, one of the other students in the class said missionaries came to his home and hung a crucifix behind the mezuza, said Lesnick. The family told the missionary they didn't want the crucifix and returned it, he said.

"We obviously have a missionary problem," said Klein. "We weren't even aware of how big a problem it is in our school."

The students that missionaries approach are generally among the native Israelis and immigrants who make up about 40 percent of the student body and tend to live in old Beit Shemesh, said Klein. That section is poorer than the newer section populated mostly by Anglos, who comprise 60 percent of the student body.

The Anglo-Israeli divide may have contributed to a difference in the approach to burning the New Testament. Lesnick, whose family immigrated from New Jersey four years ago, saw that distinction among the boys in his class. "The Israelis thought it was the right thing to do, but for the Americans, you're used to seeing [non-Jews] every day, and you don't do that to somebody that's just a little different than you," he said.

His father, Marc, also noted the difference nationality may have made in the decision. The teacher, he said, is an Israeli who has never left the country. But as an American, he said, "This is not the type of education I want my kids to have. In America, they let you practice your religion, you let them practice their religion, and you kind of coexist."

Book-burning may also invoke different images for Anglos than for Israelis. "The idea of burning in general in our minds has to do with Kristallnacht and the KKK and so on," he said.

But once he brought the issue to the attention of the school, said Marc Lesnick, it "very quickly took the matter really seriously and dealt with it properly afterward."

Lesnick found out about the burning when Ariel came home from school. "My son got home from school that night, and he actually said to me, 'Dad, you know what we did today? Well, we burned the New Testament.' I said, 'You're joking,'" said Lesnick.

He discussed it with the teacher, and a few days later Bachar came to his home to talk about the incident. Lesnick is glad that they have told him they would "definitely not do this again."

Rev. Ray Lockhart, director of the Jerusalem-based Israel Trust of the Anglican Church, said burning the New Testament so publicly was "going over the top somewhat." Lockhart, whose organization focuses on ministry to the Jews, added that it's preferable to get a signed statement from parents before giving Christian scriptures to a minor.

"Clearly no Jewish person would want to see the Tanah being burnt, and would feel that whoever did it, it was an affront to their beliefs," he said.

But the school's apology, said Lockhart, mitigates the offense. "I think it shows that it's sometimes good to have second thoughts, and to recognize that we can all make mistakes in the way we make a response off the cuff without really thinking through all the implications."

Appreciates piece on Chanukah

POSTED: Dec. 21, 2001 4:51 p.m.

Thanks for the article, "WNC's small Jewish community to celebrate festival of lights," (AC-T, Dec. 8) about Chanukah. Thanks so much for taking time out to highlight this important holiday for our Jewish community. Perhaps, in the future, you might want to re-word dates when talking about a Jewish event. The Maccabee revolt happened in 165 B.C.E. (Before Common Era) to those it matters most to; saying 165 B.C. (Before Christ) is a bit of a smack in the face.

My english might be a little rusty. But I believe that "might" means that something is optional, and "must" is something that's required. Correct me if I am wrong. Thanks for confirming how you sympathize with the de-Christionizing forces in America.

Oh I see. So now I am getting blamed for something that a Christian teacher taught me in college? Yay, blame the Jews.

The BC/BCE thing is really about being politically correct, which I think has gotten out of hand. If we refer to a Muslim event, should we refer to Muslim calendar notations? If we refer to a Chinese event, should we refer to the Chinese calendar notations?

I vigorously support freedom of regligion and strong separation of church and state, but "BC" is the traditional American way of dating events when we talk about history in our country. Where does it stop, if we try to accommodate every ethnic group which makes up our country?

The "must be" sentiment is in the letter to which you replied "what's wrong with might be?"

Since you have trouble quoting, I'll do it for you:

What's wrong with that? They taught us in college the same thing.. That before current era might be used instead of before christ..

And since you have trouble comprehending I'll explain it to you to. I expressed my lack of surprise at your post, because the CE/BCE business is not specific to Jews or whatever - it was even taught to me in college ( I went to a state univ of NY @ Albany) by a non Jew in a non religious class. That if we come across CE/BCE, it means this n that. I am not sure why you are trying to make more of it then it is... Misquoting me and etc, and I am sure it would be a lot of fun to speculate as to why... But I guess I am not a fun loving guy, like you are. I'll leave all the speculating to you and your friends.

The BC/BCE thing is really about being politically correct, which I think has gotten out of hand. If we refer to a Muslim event, should we refer to Muslim calendar notations? If we refer to a Chinese event, should we refer to the Chinese calendar notations?

Of course not. But, apparently, any reference to Jesus Christ is insulting to many Jews. Can't allow that, can we?

The BC/BCE thing is really about being politically correct, which I think has gotten out of hand. If we refer to a Muslim event, should we refer to Muslim calendar notations? If we refer to a Chinese event, should we refer to the Chinese calendar notations?

Of course not. But, apparently, any reference to Jesus Christ is insulting to many Jews. Can't allow that, can we?

Huh? So Jews are the sole reason that CE/BCE thing came about? It wasn't the atheists? Muslims? Hindus? Budhists? etc.etc.etc. Right away its Jews.. Yay, blame the Jews! Bei zhidov, spasai Rossiu?

Hmmmm... Seems like we are using BCE/CE and you didn't even know about it (blame the Jews!!!):

The Common Era Choice Explained

The reason that the timeline uses the common era dating system is simple, it's accurate.

For those who are not sure what CE and BCE means, it's simple. BCE stands for Before Common Era, which is every year before the year 0. After the year 0 is the Common Era, or CE.

I know many are saying "before 0 is BC, and after 0 is AD". But that is actually wrong, the origin of Common Era is not a plot to take Christ out of the calendar, but is really a way to keep him in. The BC/AD system came into play before the actual date of Christ's birth was known. Due to the fact that Jesus was not born in the year 0, as previously thought there were two options. Change what year we were in at the time of discovery by 6 years, or create the Common Era system.

Because AD is "the year of our lord", that would make 1 AD, actually 5 years before the year 0. So as I type this it is the year 2000 CE, or 2006 AD.

I opted for the CE dating system because if I went with AD things that happened recently would be marked in the wrong year. Such as Adolf Hiler would have been in poer from 1941-1951 AD, or Columbus would have crossed the Atlantic in 1498 AD. I felt this would have only made the timeline confusing and appear erroneous.

I was told that Christian missionaries are not allowed to proselyte in Israel. In fact, they are not supposed to give away New Testaments or tracts either. How could this have happened, if such things are prohibited by law? Is the Jewish religion "protected" by their constitution or not? Help me out here, you Jewish scholars..

You didn't exactly deny that many of your coreligionists feel offended by Christian references. But don't let that prevent you from posturing here.

You have't provided proof to the above statement.

Hmm, you just described yourself perfectly.

Oh? I remember growing up in Ukraine.. Jews were blamed for the poor treatment of workers/peasants before revolution...(no wonder millions of them fled to America early 20th century!) Jewish woman shot Lenin.. Capitalism/zionism is the natural enemy of communism.. The reason why we still haven't reached communism is the Jews, etc,etc... Now that communism isn't cool anymore, comes out that all communists were Jews, and that even Lenin was supposedly partly Jewish! Cool! Blame the Jews! Whine..whine.. whine..

Oh, because of an isolated incident which was condemned by everybodyyou are going to attribute it to all the Jews? Well, it was done for thousands of years, and most of the time there was no need to even have an isolated incident.... Why stop now? Blame the Jews!

Both the article and the letter that I posted provide AT LEAST cosiderable evidence. Are you religious at all?

Oh? I remember growing up in Ukraine.. Jews were blamed for the poor treatment of workers/peasants before revolution...(no wonder millions of them fled to America early 20th century!) Jewish woman shot Lenin.. Capitalism/zionism is the natural enemy of communism.. The reason why we still haven't reached communism is the Jews, etc,etc... Now that communism isn't cool anymore, comes out that all communists were Jews, and that even Lenin was supposedly partly Jewish! Cool! Blame the Jews! Whine..whine.. whine..

You, as a person, had little to do with what happened in the past, true. But you are quick to dismiss history just because you don't like the facts. (and yes, Lenin was quarter Jewish, not that it matters much).

Both the article and the letter that I posted provide AT LEAST cosiderable evidence. Are you religious at all?

Considerable evidence? As to what? That this particular teacher, in this particular school burned new testament and there was a great public outcry? I am not denying that. However, you trying to attribute that this is the policy/view of all Jews, is ridicilous. As I said before. Let us practice our own religion, and we don't care who you worship. You, as a person, had little to do with what happened in the past, true. But you are quick to dismiss history just because you don't like the facts. (and yes, Lenin was quarter Jewish, not that it matters much).

Ok. Please continue.. What exactly am I dismissing and which facts am I not liking? The only thing I am not liking is you trying to attribute this isolated incident to all Jews. As for Lenin being quarter Jewish.. well funny how those allegations didn't come about till AFTER the communism stopped being cool.

What are you talking about. The fact that I use BCE/CE on daily basis (and so do you) meets this issue head on

For "some" reason you only quoted half of this. So I'll quote the whole thing for you.. Still havent' mastered the art of cut and paste? Interesting how you decided to change the topic real quick.

Take a walk in Brighton Beach, get some fresh air, eat some "kopchenaya kolbasa".

Aaah. Wonderful. So at first Jews are bad because of their supposed beliefs and attempts to put Christians down, and now you are implying that Jews are just not Jewish enough. As for my personal Judaism. I try to keep kosher. I am not goign to lie that I have never had pepperoni pizza. But I am not into "kopchenaya kolbasa" and all that stuff. Pastrami is kosher, and I love it. Thanks for inquiring.

Second half doesn't make any sense at all. You are using BCE/CE and that proves what?

Aaah. Wonderful. So at first Jews are bad because of their supposed beliefs and attempts to put Christians down, and now you are implying that Jews are just not Jewish enough. As for my personal Judaism. I try to keep kosher. I am not goign to lie that I have never had pepperoni pizza. But I am not into "kopchenaya kolbasa" and all that stuff. Pastrami is kosher, and I love it. Thanks for inquiring.

It was obvious that you are not very religious, with you growing up in Ukraine and all. The degree of your religiousness doesn't matter to me. Atheistic Jews are anti-Christian enough.

Damage control. Not a good story to come out. Now comment on the letter about "smack in the face".

If the guy chooses not to use BC/AD, that's his business. Do you want me to force him? Do you want me to comment on every Jew? Look at the history, and look at the people as a whole. For example. Jihad/Terrorism in Muslims world is not an isolated incident. This is.

Burning the New Testament is not the policy/vew of all Jews, and is not a Jewish policy at all.

Good. We agree. Then why are we still on this?

Hey, likewise. Don't just try to remove symbols of this historically Christian European country that's offensive to your religion.

I wasn't aware that there was a movement amongst Jews to take out symbols out of this "historically Christian...". By the way, while most of the first americans were Christians, if I recall correctly, freedom of speech and religion were the first values as well. As for Judaism, nothing is offensive to our religion, other then others not letting us practice is.

For example, the Jewish involvemnt in the Bolshevik revolution.

I suspect that by this you mean that there were Jews amongst Bolsheviks? Sure, I don't deny it. Do you deny the russian involvement in the Bolshevik revolution?? Do you deny the Jewish involvement in the shaping of the capitalism system?

I am trying to point out that hostility to Christianity is a wide-spread phenomenon, both among religious and atheistic Jews.

Yes. You have been trying for a while now, yet I don't see any other examples other then isolated incident that you brought about here.

Those aren't allegations but facts. Remember, the commies were internationalists and the ethnicity didn't matter.

Now, you are the one acting like you are at a middle eastern bazaar. Internationalists? In theory? maybe. In practice? It said "Jew" in Jews' soviet passports. What's more, my father had to divorce my mom for 1 day, so they can remarry under her name so he could actually get into college (the dean told him flat out, that they are accepting any more of "his kind" that year).

Second half doesn't make any sense at all. You are using BCE/CE and that proves what?

Proves that I accept it. You are one who was asking me for my views on the dating systems.

It was obvious that you are not very religious, with you growing up in Ukraine and all.

Right. There were no functioning temples in Odessa (but plenty of churches. My mother walked me into one when I was about 7 to show me how people worship and how beautiful the art is).

The degree of your religiousness doesn't matter to me.

If it didn't, you wouldn't have brought it up. But you did.

Atheistic Jews are anti-Christian enough.

Interesting. So Jews are just hateful of Christians because of their genes? Very interesting. Weren't you the one arguing that a Jew is a religion, not an ethnicity? You people spin this so much, you get caught up in your own contradictions. Do you believe that the Zion protocols are true?

It was my experience that people can legally worship as they choose in Israel. However, there is tremendous pressure not to discuss any other religious alternatives with people of the Jewish faith. Maybe the following article will shed some light on this for you:

Tuesday, March 31, 1998

No missionary activity in Holy Land

The Associated Press

Representatives of 50 Christian evangelical groups have agreed to make an unprecedented joint statement promising not to carry out missionary activity in Israel. As a result, MK Nissim Zvili (Labor) said yesterday he would drop his sponsorship of an anti-proselytizing bill that has drawn protests from Christians around the world.

"This is better than a law," Zvili told The Associated Press. "This is a very big accomplishment."

In the statement, the Christian groups say they "rejoice in the presence of the Jewish people in this country of their ancestors" and agree to avoid "activities which have as their intention to alienate them from their tradition and community."

Missionary activity touches a particularly raw nerve in the Jewish state, home to 300,000 Holocaust survivors.

Clarence Wagner, director of the evangelical foundation Bridges for Peace, said the statement was an important step toward understanding between Jews and Christians. But none of the groups were engaged in proselytizing anyway, adding: "We don't believe that we have been or are in any way a threat to the Jewish people. We are among the most vocal supporters of Israel worldwide."

Christian groups opposed the proposed bill as stifling their freedom of religious expression, Wagner said. The agreement, which is to be announced formally tomorrow, was reached through the mediation of Joseph Alpher, director of the American Jewish Committee's Israel office. The accord represented "a dynamic Christian commitment to the vitality of Israel and Judaism," he said.

Another sponsor of the anti-proselytizing bill, MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) said yesterday that he rejected the agreement. "We have a long account with Christendom," Gafni said. "They tried to wipe out Judaism by force Ñ the pogroms, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the expulsion from Spain, and now they are pursuing us even into our own country."

But the decision by Zvili to drop his sponsorship will deprive the bill of broad-based support. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also said he opposed the bill, which Alpher said he hoped would now "wither on the vine." As initially proposed, the bill would have banned possession of any written material that proselytizes, which some Christians feared could be used to ban possession of the New Testament.

(c) copyright 1998 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved

Note: I would often debate various religious topics with Israeli friends, just like politics or economical issues. It is not my nature to try to convert anyone. But the official Israeli position is that there should be no "preaching" to Jews. It is their country and I see no problem with it. I just get annoyed when we in the U.S. criticize countries other than Israel for the same behavior, yet ignore that Israel has the same policy in place.

If the guy chooses not to use BC/AD, that's his business. Do you want me to force him?

No. The letter that you refuse to comment on, was comparing the usage of BC/AD to "smack in the face". Playing dumb, or being dumb? Who's forcing whom here?

Do you want me to comment on every Jew? Look at the history, and look at the people as a whole. For example. Jihad/Terrorism in Muslims world is not an isolated incident. This is.

There were Jewish terrorists too. And how about "Crazy" Irv? And ozzymandus here seems to have suggested that that incident wasn't single in the history. The most recent reported one, you can at least make that conlusion.

Good. We agree. Then why are we still on this?

Because I stated that it's the sentiment that is revealed.

I wasn't aware that there was a movement amongst Jews to take out symbols out of this "historically Christian...".

It's an attitude (confirmed by your scepticism about "historically Christian"), that is manifested in attempts to further secularize this country. You'll be very suprise to learn that many activists have Jewish names.

By the way, while most of the first americans were Christians, if I recall correctly, freedom of speech and religion were the first values as well. As for Judaism, nothing is offensive to our religion, other then others not letting us practice is.

Even with your narrow definition of "what's offensive", bibles and using references to Christ can be intepreted as attempts to convert, and therefore, not letting you practice your religion.

I suspect that by this you mean that there were Jews amongst Bolsheviks? Sure, I don't deny it. Do you deny the russian involvement in the Bolshevik revolution?? Do you deny the Jewish involvement in the shaping of the capitalism system?

By that I suggest that the overwhelming majority of top Bolsheviks were Jewish, and that they were driven by hatred to Czarist Russia with what they perceived was unfair treatment of Russian Jews. They weren't religious, just like most Jewish activists in the US are, who are, just like the Bolsheviks before them, are working on dismanling traditions of this country.

Yes. You have been trying for a while now, yet I don't see any other examples other then isolated incident that you brought about here.

I offered you two instances on this thread. I am sure there is much more evidence available, and if you want I will be flagging you on relevant threads.

Now, you are the one acting like you are at a middle eastern bazaar. Internationalists? In theory? maybe. In practice? It said "Jew" in Jews' soviet passports. What's more, my father had to divorce my mom for 1 day, so they can remarry under her name so he could actually get into college (the dean told him flat out, that they are accepting any more of "his kind" that year).

Stalin purged the "Old Guard" Bolsheviks, who were overwhelmingly Jewish, and the Communism started to gradually turn into nationalism, which culminated in its demise.

A Man-Made Famine raged through Ukraine, the ethnic-Ukrainian region of northern Caucasus, and the lower Volga River region in 1932-33. This resulted in the death of between 7 to 10 million people, mainly Ukrainians. This was instigated by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and his henchman Lazar Kaganovich. The main goal of this artificial famine was to break the spirit of the Ukrainian farmer/peasant and to force them into collectivization. The famine was also used as an effective tool to break the renaissance of Ukrainian culture that was occuring under approval of the communist government in Ukraine. Moscow perceived this as a threat to a Russo-Centric Soviet rule and therefore acted to crush this cultural renaissance in a most brutal manner. In 1932, the Soviets increased the grain procurement quota for Ukraine by 44%. They were aware that this extraordinarly high quota would result in a grain shortage, therefore resulting in the inability of the Ukrainian peasant to feed themselves. Soviet law was quite clear in that no grain could be given to feed the peasants until the quota was met. Communist party officials with the aid of military trrops and NKVD secret police units were used to move against peasants who may be hiding grain from the Soviet government. Even worse, an internal passport system was implemented to restrict movements of Ukrainian peasants so that they could not travel in search of food. Ukrainian grain was collected and stored in grain elevators that were guarded by military units & NKVD secret police units while Ukrainians were starving in the immediate area. The actions of this Moscow instigated action was a deliberate act of genocide against the Ukrainian peasant.

Walter Duranty, the New York Time's man in Moscow knew of the slaughter and refused to report it. The Germans were of it however and used what Kaganovitch and others did in the Ukraine to execute their own program of genocide.

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